The Department of Education, along with other agencies, has developed a contingency plan in the event of a government shutdown. The plan can be seen here. The other agency contingency plans, including BIA and BIE, can be seen here.

A quote from the Department of Education’s plan:

As set forth in this plan, the Department would furlough over 90 percent of its total staff level for the first week of such a lapse. During this first week, we would maintain only those excepted functions related to the discharge of the duties of Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed individuals;those employees charged with the protection of life and property; and, as appropriate, the obligation, payment, and support of student financial aid as well as other authorized payments and obligations.

A prior post on this issue can be seen here. Another ED Week article on the issue can be seen here.

As an increasing number of schools and school districts adopt online learning as a way to boost graduation rates, address multiple student populations, expand their course catalogs, and personalize learning, understanding the challenges and obstacles that educators face as they introduce new programs is key.

Here is a funding opportunity for tribes from NCAI. Among the potential funding projects, tribes can receive a grant for efforts to develop education policies, work with states/localities on education efforts, and take over their education systems.

American Indian tribes and Alaska Native Communities are nations at risk.

Our schools have failed to nurture the intellectual development and academic performance of many Native children, as is evident from their high dropoutrates and negative attitudes toward school.

Our schools have discouraged the use of Native languages in the classroom, thereby contributing to a weakening of the Natives’ resolve to retain and continue the development of their original languages and cultures.

Indian lands and resources are constantly besieged by outside forces interested in further reducing their original holdings.

Political relationships between the tribes and the federal government fluctuate with the will of the U.S. congress and decisions by the courts.

Quinton Roman Nose, executive director of the Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, said the report paints a dire picture that Indian education experts have long been asking the federal government to heed and change for the better. He believes the information presented in the report offers a starting point for more research as to why there has been little progress under the Obama administration for Native students. “I wish there were more information regarding local partnerships between tribes, local education agencies and state education agencies,” Roman Nose added. “The recent State Tribal Education Partnership grant has awarded four grants to have tribal education agencies partner with local education agencies and state education agencies in developing selected title programs from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.”

The budget uncertainty that education advocates and school districts have lived with for the past two years doesn’t seem likely to go away anytime soon. The across-the-board cuts known as “sequestration” that went into effect last March are still in place. And now, a spending showdown driven by conservative Republicans in Congress over whether to defund the president’s landmark health-care law means a government shutdown could be in the offing. Plus, there’s likely to be yet another fight in October over raising the federal debt ceiling. Here’s a handy guide to what’s happened so far and what to watch for.